{"product_id":"sentient-seas-ian-j-mcniven-9780813079615","title":"Sentient Seas: Archaeologies of Seascapes and Maritime Rituals","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA novel cross-cultural exploration of how maritime peoples have engaged with the sea through cosmology, spirituality, and ritual\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSentient Seas\u003c\/i\u003e offers a global perspective on maritime cultures, examining how societies across time and space have understood and interacted with the sea. Synthesizing archaeological evidence, historical documents, and ethnographic accounts, Ian McNiven explores maritime traditions from ancient civilizations in the Middle East and Mediterranean to medieval Europe and Scandinavia to contemporary Indigenous communities in the South Pacific.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMcNiven investigates diverse cultural practices including shipbuilding, the treatment of shipwrecks and shipwreck victims, and maritime resource use, interpreting the evidence through the perspectives of mariners who understood the seas to be sentient and capable of acting with intentionality. He introduces the concepts of \"terrestrial seascapes\" and \"ontological switching\" to illustrate how land-based shrines and votive offerings extend maritime cosmologies and maintain a liminal transition from land to sea. By bridging anthropological and archaeological research with transdisciplinary blue humanities scholarship, \u003ci\u003eSentient Seas\u003c\/i\u003e approaches seas as spiritscapes, recontextualizing folkloric beliefs about maritime superstitions.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ian J. McNiven\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0813079616\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780813079615\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Florida\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/03\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 504\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.94lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.14w x 1.25d","brand":"Ian J. McNiven","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48242011930879,"sku":"9780813079615","price":110.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_a19240a5-da89-42bf-93c5-9d5f5fdc90a2.jpg?v=1772657060","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/sentient-seas-ian-j-mcniven-9780813079615","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}